“...Satan, the personification of the Left Hand Path.” (TSB, page 52).

“Satan...merely represents a force of nature—the powers of darkness which have been named just that because no religion has taken these forces out of darkness.” “...this many faceted key to the unknown—which the Satanist chooses to call ‘Satan’.” (TSB, page 62).

"Most Satanists do not accept Satan as an anthropomorphic being with cloven hooves, a barbed tail, and horns. He merely represents* a force of nature - the powers of darkness which have been named just that because no religion has taken these forces out of the darkness..." - Anton Szandor LaVey - The Satanic Bible p62

"After your account has been created you will need to make a post in the Introduction forum. This post will be your introduction to the message board. If you do not make an introduction post your account will be deleted within 1 week."

Anton LaVey for the most part states this thruout his writtings, and i have read numerous times how he was continually asked during his life if he believed in a literal Satan, as always he said read "THE" book!

He did not as far as i know believed Satan as something to be worshipped, we worship ourselves and see Satan as already stated here by another forum member as a force of nature, and as LaVey also has stated numerous times to use the name SATAN is FUN and gets a charge out of people and defintly grabs there attention whether it be in a positive or negative way....Anton LaVey was just way to cool

To us “Satan” is a symbol rather than an anthropomorphic being, although many members of the Church of Satan who are mystically inclined prefer to think of Satan in a very real, anthropomorphic way. Of course, we do not discourage this, because we realize that it is very important to many individuals to ritualistically conceptualize a well-wrought picture of their mentor or tutelary (guardian/protector) divinity. Symbolically, however, Satan is the teacher: the informer of the whys and wherefores of the world. In answer to those who would label us “Devil worshippers” or be quick to assume us to be Satan worshippers, I must say that Satan demands study, not worship.

We do not grovel; we do not get down on our knees, genuflect, and worship Satan. We do not plead, we do not implore that Satan give us what we wish. We feel that anyone who is going to be blessed by any god of his choice is going to have to show that god that he is capable of taking care of the blessings that are conceived.

NOTE from the current High Priest: This tolerance of mystics changed after 1975, when a small group of them left the Church feeling that their leader had communed with Satan in the form of Set, and transferred a mythical "Infernal Mandate" from LaVey to him. That was the proof to LaVey that those who believe in an external entity, regardless of how they see it, behave as do other theists, not as Satanists, and could have no place in the Church of Satan. PHG

I don’t feel that raising the devil in an anthropomorphic sense is quite as feasible as theologians or metaphysicians would like to think. I have felt His presence but only as an exteriorized extension of my own potential, as an alter-ego or evolved concept that I have been able to exteriorize. With a full awareness, I can communicate with this semblance, this creature, this demon, this personification that I see in the eyes of the symbol of Satan—the goat of Mendes-—as I commune with it before the altar. None of these is anything more than a mirror image of that potential I perceive in myself.

I have this awareness that the objectification is in accord with my own ego. I’m not deluding myself that I’m calling something that is disassociated or exteriorized from myself the godhead. This Force is not a controlling factor that I have no control over. The Satanic principle is that man willfully controls his destiny; if he doesn’t, some other man—-a lot smarter than he is—-will. Satan is, therefore, an extension of one’s psyche or volitional essence, so that that extension can sometimes converse and give directives through the self in a way that thinking of the self as a single unit cannot. In this way it does help to depict in an externalized way the Devil per se. The purpose is to have something of an idolatrous, objective nature to commune with. However, man has connection, contact, control. This notion of an exteriorized God-Satan is not new.